THE LAGOS Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), has delivered a landmark judgment in favour of six claimants against the National Union of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) and its principal officers.
In a certified true copy of the judgement obtained by National Record, the court, presided over by the Hon. Justice (Dr.) I. J. Essien, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, declared the suspension and expulsion of the claimants as unconstitutional, null, and void, while also awarding two million naira (₦2,000,000) in costs against NUFBTE, popularly known as Food Union.
Background of the suit
The suit, marked NICN/LA/430/2020, was filed by Comrades Abiodun Philip (then Ogun State Chairman), Rilwan Opaleye (then Branch Chairman, Nestle Nigeria Plc), Adebayo Clement (then Branch Secretary, Nestle Nigeria Plc), Abadom Amechi, Olawuwo Abiodun, and Osagu Vincent.
The claimants, through their counsel, O. A. Afolabi, Esq., challenged their suspension and expulsion by NUFBTE’s National Administrative Committee (NAC) and National Executive Council (NEC), alleging that the actions were punitive for defending the union’s constitution and instituting a related suit (NICN/LA/189/2020) against the union’s leadership.
The claimants argued that their suspension and expulsion violated provisions of NUFBTE’s constitution, particularly Rule 3(iv), Rule 5(iii), (iv), (vii), and Appendix II 4(I)(d), which grant members the right to uphold the union’s constitution and initiate legal actions against breaches.
They also accused the defendants of engaging in self-help and disregarding court orders by proceeding with an emergency delegates’ conference despite an interlocutory injunction.
Key Declarations
Justice Essien dismissed the defendants’ preliminary objections, affirming the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter under Section 254(C)(1)(h)(vi) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 7(1)(a)(i) & (c)(iv) of the National Industrial Court Act 2006.
The judge held that the dispute was not an intra-union trade dispute under the Trade Disputes Act, as it did not relate to employment terms but rather to constitutional interpretation.
In his judgement, Justice Essien made the following declarations and orders:
- A declaration that the suspension and expulsion of the claimants violated NUFBTE’s constitution and were unconstitutional.
- An order setting aside the expulsion letters dated October 21, 2020, for being “self-help, extra-judicial, and aimed at overreaching the claimants’ position in Suit No. NICN/LA/189/2020.”
- An order nullifying the suspension and replacement of the claimants in their respective offices via the August 18, 2020, resolution, which the court deemed a disregard for due process.
- An order reinstating the claimants to their positions, including: 1st claimant as Ogun State Council Chairman; 2nd claimant as Lagos State Council II Chairman; 3rd claimant as Branch Chairman, Nestle Nigeria Plc; 4th claimant as Branch Secretary, Nestle Nigeria Plc; and, 5th claimant as Branch Chairman, 7up Bottling Co. Ltd.
- A perpetual injunction restraining NUFBTE and its officers from interfering with the claimants’ constitutional roles.
- A cost of ₦2 million awarded against the defendants in favour of the claimants.
Justice Essien lampooned the defendants’ actions as “an affront to the judicial powers of the court,” particularly their defiance of the interlocutory injunction restraining the emergency delegates’ conference.
“Once parties have turned their dispute over to the courts for determination, the resort to self-help must end… It is reprehensible for any party to take steps during litigation that pre-empt the court’s decision,” Justice Essien held.
The judge, further citing a legal precedent, “Regd. Trustee Apostolic Church v. Olowoleni (1990) and Ezegbu v. First African Trust Bank Ltd. (1992),” emphasized that the defendants’ actions rendered the court’s pending decisions in Suit No. NICN/LA/189/2020 nugatory.
The judgment reinforces the judiciary’s role in safeguarding constitutional rights within trade unions and curbing extra-judicial actions.
Lateef Oyelekan and a Legacy of Tyranny
The judgement is a vindication of the struggle for constitutionalism waged by the aggrieved members who had accused Comrade Idowu Lateef Oyelekan of illegality and tyranny in his quest for tenure elongation so that he could remain as president of the union for life.
National Record could recall that his intractable ambition and impunity were emboldened by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) under Comrade Ayuba Wabba who threw his weight behind Oyelekan to hold an emergency delegates conference on the midnight of August 21, 2020 at the Food Union Hotel and Suites, Ojodu, Berger, Lagos.
The midnight conference was marred by a bloody brawl in which dangerous weapons were freely used.
Shortly before that emergency conference, the General Secretary, Comrade Bamidele Busari, and the members of the union, who eventually became claimants in this suit, were issued with queries and subsequently suspended by the National Administrative Committee (NAC) of the union after a meeting held on Tuesday, 18th August 2020 at the Food Union Hotel and Suites.
While the alleged offence of Comrade Busari stemmed from the perception that he failed to manifest sufficient loyalty to Oyelekan, the alleged infractions of the other aggrieved members was their open struggle against Oyelekan’s quest to be life president of the union.
